Skirt hanger



y 2, 1967 A. L.. BISSONNETTE ET AL 3,317,096

Q SKIRT HANGER Filed Feb. '23, 1965 FIGJ INVENTORS:

ARTHUR L.BISSONNETTE DONA D L. 55H. J

ATTORNEY F I G; 3

United States Patent 3,317,096 SKIRT HANGER Arthur L. Bissonnette, 5566 Waneta Drive, and Donald 1... Stull, 5538 Waneta Drive, both of Dallas, Tex. 75209 Filed Feb. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 434,381 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-95) This invention relates generally to clothes hangers, and more particularly relates to hangers for ladies wardrobes, including skirts.

As is well known, a ladys skirt is best stored by suspending the skirt from the waistband, rather than by folding it across a more conventional hanger. It is common practice to hang skirts from the crossbar of a conventional hanger by means of a number of conventional clothespins. Hangers having a transverse rod on which a plurality of small spring clips are slidably mounted are perhaps the most commonly used specially-built hanger for this purpose. Hangers using various other means to fasten the waistband of skirts to the hanger have been proposed, but these devices have in general employed a number of parts and have been relatively expensive, relatively difiicult to manipulate, and not highly reliable in operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved hanger for supporting a ladys skirt or similar garment by the waistband.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a hanger which may also be used for coats and other garments having shoulders while being used to hang a skirt.

A further object is to provide such a hanger which may be very economically manufactured by a one-step molding process.

Yet another object is to provide a hanger formed from a single molded piece which may be used for skirts having different sized waistbands.

Another object is to provide a hanger on which a skirt may be easily hung.

These and other objects are accomplished generally by a hanger comprising an elongated frame having a centrally disposed hook for suspending the frame in' a generally horizontal position. An elongated resilient arm is connected adjacent each end of the frame and each arm extends downwardly and outwardly from the frame, then curves inwardly at the end. Friction means are provided on the outer edge of the outwardly extending portion of each arm for frictionally engaging the waistband of a garment. Thus the arms may be deflected inwardly and inserted in the waistband of a skirt and the resilience of the arms will then force the friction means into engagement with the waistband so that the garment will hang suspended from the arms.

In accordance with another important aspect of the invention, the elongated frame simulates human shoulders so as to simultaneously receive the shoulders of a dress or other similar garment.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the friction means comprises a pluraltiy of projections extending outwardly from the arms. The projections adjacent the lower ends of the arms are longer than the projections adjacent the frame so as to compensate for the reduction in resilient force toward the ends of the arms.

Further, there arepreferably a number of correspondingly formed arms at spaced points adjacent each end of the frame so that skirts having waistbands of different sizes can be suspended from various pair combinations of the arms.

In accordance with another very important aspect of the invention, the entire combination of hook, frame and deice pending arms is fabricated from a single integral molded plastic body so as to provide a very simple and economical unit of construction which can be mass produced.

Additional aspects, objects and advantages of the invention will be evident to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on lines 5--5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on lines 66 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged View of a portion of FIG- URE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a hanger constructed in accordance with .the present invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. The hanger 10 is comprised of a single, integrally molded member having an elongated frame portion 12, a centrally located hook portion 14, and elongated arm portions 16, 17, 18 and 19. Any resilient, moldable, synthetic material having otherwise compatable properties may be used, such as, for example, a rubberized polystyrene.

The hook portion 14 may have the conventional configuration illustrated in FIGURE 1 including a substan tially circular cross section as illustrated in FIGURE 2. The hook 14 is connected to .the center of the frame portion 12 so that the frame portion 12 'will be suspended generally horizontal when the hook 14 is placed over a suitable support. The configuration of'the frame 12 along the upper edge simulates the human shoulders so that a coat, biouse or dress having shoulders may be hung over the outside of the hanger. The frame portion 12 preferably has an I-bearn configuration such as illustrated in the sectional views of FIGURES 3 and 4 comprising a central web portion 20, a lower flange portion 22 and an upper, relatively wide flange portion 24- to provide a broad bearing surface for the garment. The I-beam type construction of the horizontal frame 12 results in sufiicient rigidity in the vertical direction to sustain a vertical load, yet is flexible in the lateral direction to prevent damage to the hanger. This I-beam configuration also permits the use of a minimum volume of material.

As can be seen from FIGURE 1, the arms 16-19 are formed generally in opposed pairs, one arm of each pair being disposed adjacent the opposite ends of the frame 12. Each arm extends downwardly and outwardly from the frame over a major portion of its length, then curves inwardly at the lower ends. The outer two arms 16 and 19 form one pair which are spaced generally on opposite sides of the center of the hook 14, and the inner arms 17 and 18 form another pair, each spaced an equal distance from the center of the hook. Each arm has a generally circular cross section adjacent the upper end as illustrated in FIGURE 5 and becomes more oval adjacent the lower end as illustrated in FIGURE 6 to facilitate flexure adiacent the lower end. A plurality of projections 26 extend from the outer faces of each of the resilient arms to provide frictional means for supporting a skirt. The projections preferably increase in length along the arms from top to bottom so as to compensate for the loss in the resilient force along the arms.

A skirt, for example, may very easily be attached to the hanger merely by flexing a pair of the arms together and inserting them in the waistband of the skirt. The arms then spring outwardly to engage the friction means on the arms with the waistband. The friction means are so formed as to compensate for the decreasing strength of the arms toward the ends of the arms.

The spacing between the arms 1649 and the lengths and angles of the arms are so selected that substantially any waist size between minimum and maximum values can be supported. For example, the arms 17 and 18 may be approximately eleven inches apart at the upper ends and approximately thirteen and one-half inches apart at the lower ends, when not deflected, so as to accommodate 'waistbands from about twenty-two up to about twentyseven inches. The arms 16 and 19 may then be about thirteen inches apart at the upper ends and about sixteen inches apart at the lower ends to accommodate waist sizes from about twenty-six up to about thirty-one inches. Thus it will be noted that any waist size from about twenty-two inches up to about thirty-one inches can be placed on the hanger even though the hanger is formed from one integral body of material. If necessary, the frame 12 can be partially bowed in a direction normal to the web of the l-beam frame 12 in order to accommodate even smaller sizes, in which case the frame 12 assumes the more natural curve angle of the shoulders. Further, one outer arm, arm 16 for example, may be used in combination with the opposite outer arm 19 to accommodate an intermediate size if desired, although the hanger would then be slightly imbalanced.

From the above detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be seen that a clothes hanger has been described for hanging ladies skirts of various sizes and also blouses, coats and shouldered garments, yet which is fabricated from a single integral piece of molded plastic material so as to be highly economical in production. Skirts stored by the hanger are effectively held in the preferred position to prevent wrinkling, and the material of the skirt is subjected to a minimum of Wear and tear.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim which is intended to constitute the sole limitations on the invention.

What is claimed is:

A hanger comprising in combination:

(a) an integrally molded plastic body having a generally horizontal frame portion simulating human shoulders for receiving the shoulders of a garment,

(b) a pair of elongated resilient arms integral with said frame and extending therefrom at points adjacent to the ends of said frame and extending downwardly and outwardly and curving inwardly at the ends thereof, said pair of elongated resilient arms being of substantially circular cross-section and said frame of I- shaped cross-section,

(c) friction means on the outer edges of the outwardly extending portion of each arm comprising a series of projections extending outwardly from each of said pair of resilient arms, the projections increasing in length toward the ends of each of said pair of resilient arms with said arms lying substantially in a common plane, the ends of said pair of resilient arms being free of resilient movement inwardly for insertion of waistbands of different size garments, and

(d) a hook secured to the center of the frame for suspending the frame in a horizontal position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 115,918 8/1939 Fewster 223-88 631,102 8/1899 Bigsby 22388 779,168 1/1905 Knight 223 1,526,692 2/1925 Bohdal 223-88 2,492,287 12/1949 Hogan 223-93 2,552,161 5/1951 Fanning 22388 2,608,324 8/1952 Currier 22388 X 2,904,233 9/1959 Brothers 22388 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. KRIZMANICI-I, Assistant Examiner. 

